Winter Wonder Fest, also known as Winter Fest, is a long-standing tradition in Barrington and the event is a great way to kick off the holiday season. This year, Barrington is hosting their sixth annual Winter Fest.
The Winter Fest tradition started as a drive-thru event during COVID as a way to showcase the arts programs that weren’t able to shine because of the pandemic. Now Winter Fest has become an annual tradition and with tickets sold at $10 a piece, Winter Fest serves as a large fundraiser for visual and fine arts programs. This year’s Winter Fest is on Dec. 12 and 13 and with new activities and performances every year, the event is a must-attend to kick off the holiday season with the whole community.
Some new events occurring this year are that the all-girls robotics team has developed a hands-on robotics game, the Chinese immersion program is hosting a calligraphy craft and Mahjong, the drama board and winter musical “Cinderella” cast and crew are planning a wand craft. There are also new performances with the staff choir, the staff band and there are choral and performing arts groups from every single school in the district.
Brigid Tileston, the district’s arts director, loves how much the community is able to come together during the event.
“My favorite part of Winter Fest is just bringing everyone together, you know? From the elementary school PTOs and students all the way through the high school and beyond. We’re a unit district, and it’s just one of those events, sort of like homecoming in the fall, where everybody comes together for a bigger purpose, and it’s just a lot of fun,” Tileston said.
Winterfest is a large community event every year, and Tileston is always finding new crafts and performances to keep the crowd coming.
“We do try [to incorporate new things every year], but I think sometimes it’s also just an openness to other ideas,” Tileston said. “The trees are the same every year, but they have a new take on the trees. The elementary art teachers or PTOs have a new, fresh approach. And then we’re always experimenting with games and locations.”
Senior Olivia Schwan has been volunteering at Winter Fest for four years as a ceramics volunteer. She has enjoyed being able to do something she loves with people she loves.
“I can have a peaceful six hours straight of working on ceramics, then also, if I need a break, I can go be with other people that are there and go see the people that are singing and band, and all that fun stuff,” Schwan said. “Also, because it’s an open house, a lot of people from past years that have graduated will come back, so I get to see them, and we all throw [clay] together on the wheel.”
Ceramics teacher Jason Burke, who makes clay ornaments and paints them with kids every Winter Fest, thinks everyone should come out and enjoy Winter Fest.
“What else are you gonna do? It’s cold out. Come inside and hang out. There’s food, there’s fun, there’s activities, there’s something for everyone. Honestly, it’s just a great time for the elders, a great time for the little ones. So what’s not to like, I mean, you got something better to do in December? What are your other options?” Burke said. “It gets you in the spirit of the season, which is hard to do sometimes, but there’s so much festivity. It’s the community coming together.”
This year at Winter Fest, the community is trying to give back. The PTO is hosting a canned food drive during Winter Fest to help families in need during the holiday season. If you can, please consider donating and bringing canned goods to Winter Fest to help spread holiday joy throughout the community.
With more and more events and activities happening at Winter Fest each year, Mrs. Tileston thinks this year will top years past.
“I think this is going to be the best Winter Fest yet. I’m calling it. We have more performing groups than we’ve ever had. We have more trees, more activities, and we really are making an effort to provide activities for the youngest audience members. We have some things that one and two-year-olds will love, all the way up through adulthood,” Tileston said
Still Not Convinced?
Hear from BHS ceramics teacher Jason Burke and Olivia Schwan,’ 26, on why you should explore Winter Wonder Fest!
Q: Why did you first decide to get involved with Winter Fest?
JB: It’s put on by the fine arts department, and we started it during COVID, which is crazy, that long. I mean, it seems like a long time ago, but we wanted to bring the community together during COVID and display some of the talents of the fine arts department. So we did a drive-through. They were selling, like, candy. It was so much fun. And then the distancing, social distancing thing wore off, and we’re like, it was really popular. We should keep doing it. So I got roped in through just being in the fine arts department, you know, like, I’m here, and they wanted some cool activities for the kids to do, and I’m like, I can make ornaments, and the kids can come in, like, core them in. So it worked out, hey, so that’s, that’s how I got involved. It’s just being in the department that was putting on the show, like you have no choice.
Q: What about Winter Fest makes you excited for the event every year?
JB: There’s so much to do. There’s so much going on, you get, like, the magicals are putting out performances. There’s ice sculpting, there’s, you know, every hour, there’s different stuff in the auditorium, I walk around, and there’s never any shortage of activities to engage in. I miss half of it because I’m just chasing around my kids and looking at all the cool stuff that’s going on. I mean, there’s too much to do in one hour. You have to come on both days. Yes, you do have to do it all.
Q: Why do you think the community members should come to this year’s Winter Fest?
JB: What else are you gonna do? Like it’s cold out, come inside and hang out. I mean, there’s food, there’s fun, there’s activities, there’s something for everyone. Honestly, it’s just like a great time for the elders, a great time for the little ones. And there’s a bunch of high school kids running around, too. So what’s not to like, I mean, you got something better to do in December? Come out and have a blast at Winterfest. It’s indoors; you can go outside. They still do the cool light show, so you can go outside and then come in and warm up with some hot chocolate. I mean, it gets you in the spirit of the season, which is hard to do sometimes, but there’s so much festivity. You know, in the community, coming together. It’s just a fun environment, and it gets you in the spirit of the holidays. So they should come out for all those reasons.
Q: Why did you decide to help out with Winter Fest?
OS: Burke told me that during Winter Fest, he’s going to be there anyway, helping out and doing stuff. And he said that I should come by because I’ll have time to work on my projects. And so I was like, Sure, that sounds like a great chance to get ahead on the stuff I’m behind on, which I need. And then, eventually, my first time doing it, they had people come in and a lot of eighth graders, and I kind of just talked to them about how ceramics worked, and gave them a little tour and a walk-through. And yeah, it was great.
Q: So how many years have you volunteered at Winter Fest?
OS: This will be my fourth.
Q: What do you do at Winter Fest?
OS: I pretty much stay in ceramics and I work on my projects, or I help other people with their projects, or I give tours to people that come in and have questions about ceramics, and I kind of give them the rundown.
Q: What do you enjoy about Winter Fest?
OS: Um, the fact that I can just have a like, peaceful, like, six hours straight of working on stuff. But then also, if I need a break, I can go be with other people that are there, go see the people that are like, singing and band, like in band and all that fun stuff. And then also, because it’s an open house, a lot of people from, like, past years that have graduated will come back, so I get to see them, and we all like, throw together on the wheel.
Q: What about Winter Fest makes you excited for the event every year?
OS: The fact that I could be there for six hours straight on the wheel, literally, just the fact that I can be there for that long till like eight o’clock at night in ceramics.
Q: Why do you think community members should come to Winter Fest this year?
OS: You get to see a side of the school that you don’t really get to see and like during tours or walk throughs, and you get to talk to students firsthand and ask them questions. What else? There’s more, also, because a lot of students work really hard to put stuff on, like display and that are showing stuff, and you want to go support them, because they work really hard, and people got to see it, and it’s really boring. If no one’s there.
